Cut-off and reversing-gear for engines



2 Sheets-Sheet l.

/l/E 77 @y (No Model.)

C. FOX.

GUT-OEE ENE EEVEESING GEAE EOE ENGINES. No. 399,l91.

Patented Mar. 5, 1889.

N PEYEns Fhuiclimographef. wnsmngton. DJ;

2 Sheets Sheet 2.

(No Model.)

C. FOX.

GUT-OPP AND RNVNNSING GEAR PUR ENGINES.

Patented Mar. 5, 1889.

N PUERS, Phmo-Lmwgmphar. washmghm. DC,

iiivirnn Srarns @Pafrnivr @trice CHARLES FOX, OF STAIWIFORD, CONNECTICUT.

CUT-OFF AND REVERSiNG-GEAR FOR ENGINES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 399,191, dated March 5, 1889. Application led May 22, 1838. Serial No. 274,647. (No model.)

To all 'whom it pray concern;

Be it known that I, CHARLES FOX, a citizen of the United States, residing at Stamford, in the county of Fairiield and State of Connecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in CutOtls and Reversing-Gear lor Engines; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invent-ion, such as-will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention is equally applicable to marine engines and locomotives, and has for its object to produce cut-oft mechanism and reversing-gear that shall be so constructed and organized as to give a positive lead7 at all points of the cut-ott, both in the forward and backward motion-that is to say, the lead will commence at the same position of the crank, no mat-ter at what portion et the stroke the steam may be cut oit. By theterm lead I mean the opening of the valve 'for the admission ot steam. into the cylinder to act as a cushion i'or the piston at the ends et the strokc-that is, before and at the passage of the centers by the crank.

It is of course well understood that by cuttin g olif the steam early in the stroke the consu m ption of steam, and consequently the consumption of fuel, is greatly reduced, while at the same time enormous power can be developed by using the steam expansively. lleretolore, however, so far as I am aware, it has been impossible ior engineers to avail themselves et the t ull expansive powerot' the steam, for the reason that it' the steam were cut off early in the stroke the effect was, owing to inherent defects in the valve mechanism, to give so much lead as to cause a back-pressure et steam on the piston, thus greatly impairing the efficiency of the engine. lVith an early cut-oil the lead has heretofore been irregular. My invention enables me to insure a positive lead-that is, a lead beginning at the same position of the crank, no matter at what portion of the stroke oit' the piston the steam may be cut oft'. I am thus enabled to secure the full expansive power of the steam and to effect an enormous saving in the consumption oi' fuel by reducing the amount oi' steam required to run the engine. This is especially truc of locomotives, where the loads required to be drawn and the grades are subject to great variation. With these ends in view I have devised the simple and novel construction o which the following description, in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification, similar numbers being used to denote like parts in all the ligures.

Figure l is a iront elevation illustrating the application of my invention to a marine engine, the steam-chest being removed;- Fig. 2, a side elevation correspoi'iding with Fig. l, the cylinderbeing in section. In both of these views the reversing-lever is shown in the central position-that is, a position in which, if the engine started at all, it would be liable to move in either direction, dependent upon outside circumstances. Fig. 3 is a view showing the application of my invention to a locomotive, the cylinder being in section, the liftingshaft, lifting-rod, saddle, link, dic., being in position to cause forward movement ofthe locomotive; and Fig. 4 is a similar view, the lifting-shaft, lifting-rod, link, saddle, 5t-c., being in position to cause backward movement.

l denotes the frame-work; 2, the crank journaled in a boss, 3; a, the eccentrics; 5, the eccentric-straps; l, the eccentric-rods; 7, the cylinder; S, the piston; 9, the piston-rod; IO,

the steam-ports; 11, the exhaust-port; 12, the' valve; 13, the valve-stem, at the lower end of which is a guide, l-l, moving in ways l5; 1G, the link; 17, the link-block journaled on a stud, 1S, project-ing outward from the valvestem guide; 19, the saddle; 20, the reach-rod; 2l, the quadrant; 22, the reversing-lever, and 23 a set-screw whereby the reversing-lever is locked to the quadrantafter adjustment to cut oft the entrance ot steam into thc cylinder. I have simply enumerated these elements for the reason that their construction and arrangement may be greatly varied without departn g from the principle et' my invention-as, for instance, in Figs. 3 and il, in which I have shown my invention as applied to a locomotive. In this term the reversing-lever is not shown, it being at the rear end of the locomotive.

22 denotes the lifting-shaft, and 22h the lifting-rod, which are of ordinary construction and com mon to all locomotives. The valvestem in this form is made in two parts jointed together, the outer end of the outer part be- IOO ing pivoted to a lever, 24, the opposite end of said lever being pivoted to link-block 17. in both forms denotes rods pivoted to the opposite ends of link 16, each rod being pivoted to one of the eccentric-rods, and 26 denotes rocker-arms, one end of said rocker-arms being pivoted at a fixed point, 27, the opposite end of each rocker-arm being pivoted to one of the eccentric-rods and to one of the rods 25 at the pivotal point of said rods to 4each other, as is clearly shown in the various iignres of the drawings. The link is an arc of a circle the center of which is the pivotal point of the rocker-arms, eccentric-rods, and rods 25 to each other when the crank is at its highest point, as is clearly shown in Fig. 1. In the form shown in Fig. 1., when the reversing-lever is swung toward the left, a forward movement of the engine is produced, and when it is swung toward the 'right a .reverse movement is produced.

The special construction and arrangement of the cylinder, piston7 valve, and other necessary parts are of course not of the essence of my invention.

I claim- 1. In a cut-off and reversing mechanism, the combination, with the valve, valve-stem, eccentrics, and eccentric-rods, of an arc-shaped link, a block connected to the valve-stem, upon which said link slides, a reach-rod connected to the link, rods 25, pivoted to the opposite ends of the link and each pivoted to one of the eccentric-rod s, and rocker-arms pivoted to a fixed point and to the eccentric-rods and rods 25 at their pivotal points to each other, substantially as set fort 2. The combinati on,w.itl1 the eccentric-rods,

an arc-shaped link, and link-block 17, of rods 25, pivoted to opposite ends of the link and to the eccentric-rods, and rocker-arms pivoted to a fixed point and to the eccentric-rods and rods 25 at their pivotal points to each other.

3. The combination, with the eccentric-rods, rods 25, and rocker-arms pivoted to a Xed point and to the eccentric-rods and rods 25 at their pivotal points to each other, of a link to the opposite ends of which rods 25 are pivoted, and which is an arc of a circle of which the pivotal points of the rocker-arms, eccentric-rods, and rods 25 are the center.

et. The combination, with the eccentric-rods,

an arc-shaped link having saddle 1f), and linkblock 17, of rods 25, pivoted to opposite ends of the link and to the eccentric-rods, rockerarlns pivoted to a fixed point and to the eccentric-rods and rods 25 at their pivotal points to each other, and a reach-rod pivoted to the saddle.

5. The combination, with the eccentric-rods, an arc-shaped link, and link-block 17, of rods 25, pivoted to the opposite ends of the link and to the eccentric-rods,rocker-arms pivoted to a ixed point and to the eccentric-rods and rods 25 at their pivotal points to each other, a reach-rod pivoted to the link, a valve, and a valve-stem connected to link-block 17, Whereby movement of the link acts to change the point of cut-off, but without changing `the lead of the Valve. l

In testimony whereof I aiig my signature in presence of tWo Witnesses.

CHARL 3S FOX; lVitnesses:

A. M. WoosTER, BERTHA E. LEE. 

